The charm of strange quarks. - Mysteries and revolutions of particle physics

This is the fascinating story of how twentieth century physicists revealed layer upon layer of structure within the atom to reach the basic particles of matter. Both particle physics and cosmology are made accessible to a reader familiar with some basic principles of physics. The Charm of Strange Quarks relates the exciting drama of the discovery of the charm quark, describes the ephemeral neutrino that can traverse the diameter of Earth, explores indications of dark matter and an accelerating universe, and then culminates with the discovery of the top quark and speculations about the existence of extra space dimensions. The Charm of Strange Quarks includes many illustrations and photographs, and integrates the stories of the individual scientists throughout. It has four pages of color photographs and the famous "Particle Chart". Eminent physicists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center collaborated with high school teachers in the Contemporary Physics Education Project on this novel book, introducing particle physics to students and others. The Charm of Strange Quarks can thus also be used as a supplement for high school and college physics courses.